This place is located 37 km from Belgrade and from the other cities you can calculate here. It is about half an hour from our capital, so it is a great destination for a one day trip by car…
Buses from Bežanijska kosa also drive to the forest…
Where is Bojčinska forest located?
Bojčinska forest is located in Progar and belongs to the Belgrade municipality of Surčin.
What can you do in Bojčinska forest?
There you can ride horses, engage in recreation on the obstacle course, and then make up for everything you spent at a nearby restaurant.
Now, since it is generally known that I am permanently at odds with all kinds of adrenaline challenges, you will wonder what I was looking for in Bojčinska forest?
Here’s what attracted me.
I don’t often get a chance to walk through the woods and I really like that. A beautiful asphalt path about 2 km long goes through Bojčinska forest, which my wheelchair is very happy about.
The trail is in thick shade, I don’t think the sun has ever won the battle here. That is why a walk through Bojčinska forest is a real pleasure, especially outside the weekend because there is no crowd.
About the forest
The forest covers an area of 629.51 hectares. That’s a lot of oxygen!
It is produced by 185 species of different plants, the highest of which is pedunculate oak. There are many fungi that belong to rare species. The forest was placed under state protection in 1965, and that saved her life and enabled the survival of many animals that found their home here.
I came across one right away. I was worried. It’s not like I can hop aside…
I froze, but luckely, she just angrily marched off into her hole as I apologized to her a thousand times.
The forest is so dense that it was used by both partisans and locals to hide.
King Alexander I Karadjordjevic also used the Bojcin forest for hunting, as well as his communist alter ego after the Second World War, because the forest is rich in rabbits, roe deer, and wild boars.
But the main star of the Bojčinska forest today is Her Majesty the Mangulica.
The name was given to her by Vuk Karadžić, which means: “pig with a lot of fat”. The Germans call her a “wool pig” because she is quite hairy.
Why is mangulica royalty among pigs?
Because it grows in the forest and eats acorns, which makes its meat very tasty, and most importantly, it is almost cholesterol-free, and legend has it that “the one who eats mangulica feels like he has eaten fish.”
As you walk through the woods the smell will lead you to them. They are very sociable and came to greet us.
We were separated from them by only one wire, which they could easily have crossed, but they didn’t.
There is also a maternity hospital for mangulica because mangulica is a very dedicated mother and aggressively defends her cub. Maybe it’s because she didn’t genetically distance herself from her wild boar ancestor…
A monument to mangulica was erected in Sremska Mitrovica, and the legend says that brides ride a mangulan for the sake of their offspring. If the bride pets him with her right hand she will have a son if she pets him with her left hand she will have a daughter. Since then, the monument in Sremska Mitrovica has been worn out in certain places…
Bojčinska koleba
It would be better if the restaurant was located at the end of the trail then many more people would take the time and walk to the end of the trail.
It was built in the spirit of Srem and should convey with its interior how mangulica breeders lived in oak forests at that time.
“Koleba” does everything to distract you from walking. Starting with the appetizer called “Becar sandwich” (bread, lard and allspice) there is also roast lamb and barbecue.
In the bar itself, you can buy lard and other mangulica delicacies that we did not miss.
If you are tired, there are also bungalows for overnight stays.
And in the end, I won’t tell you what’s at the end of the trail… You’ll have to find out for yourself!
I enjoyed the walk immensely, especially because my dear grandparents kept me company. Together they are 165 years old and have endured the entire course.
Have you visited Bojčinska forest?
Did I miss anything?
Traveled and enjoyed,
Marko Veličković
